Shinobi: Team 7
by Gallyrat
Summary: Naruto world, rebuilt from the ground up. Naruto has always been a pretty average orphan. But when he enrolls in the Shinobi academy alongside Haruno Sakura and Uchiha Sasuke, he realizes that he is anything but ordinary.
1. Chapter 1

It was exactly 200 years since the fateful day that Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara had agreed on the truce that led to the founding of Konohagakure. The Village Hidden in the Leaves was in celebration.

The streets, narrow on any usual day of the week, were nearly impossible to navigate, packed full of performers and stalls and wonders of all kinds. Adults mingled with their friends, admired the festivities, and compared everything to how it was when they were young (there were always disappointed with how it stacked up). Children darted through the crowds, laughing and playing and singing, drinking in the kind of anniversary that only happened once every hundred years. On the rooftops, Genin, Chunin and Jonin alike participated in the festivities while also going about their usual duties. A light load of course – nobody wanted to work on Founding Day.

Konohagakure was the oldest village of the Five Elemental Nations, though only by a few years. The massive, sprawling metropolis was an eclectic mixture of old and new architecture, from grand, sweep estates that dated back hundreds of years to quick, cheap apartment buildings that had been constructed en mass only recently.

Truth be told, the newer buildings outweighed the older ones. It had only been six years since the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox, the Kyuubi, cut a swath of destruction through the city, reducing many of its old, proud structures to rubble and ash. But those were dark thoughts, for dark times, and had no place on a day of celebration.

Naruto was six years old, and it was the greatest day of his life. For once, there were no chores to do for the orphanage at which he lived. Ichiraku's was giving out free ramen, and the hyperactive blonde had managed to eat himself full, something he hadn't thought he was capable of just that morning. The sky was clear and sunny, the air was warm and filled with delicious smells and wonderful music, and for possibly the first time in his short life, Naruto was content. He lay on the roof of a random building and looked up at the enormous cliff wall that hung over Konohagakure, imagining the view from up top.

"I remember you."

Naruto's ears perked up at the sound of a voice behind him, high pitched (even for a child) and feminine. He turned and saw the source of the voice – a girl his age, grass green eyes slightly obscured by bright pink hair. He remembered her too – she had been at the Academy Entrance Exam a few months back.

"Hi," he said back.

"I'm Sakura," she said, taking a seat next to him. She smelled nice, Naruto thought. Not as nice as ramen, but it was close. "Haruno Sakura."

"I'm Naruto," he said back.

"Just Naruto?"

Naruto made a face. "Kiji Naruto," he said. He hated his family name, which wasn't a family name at all. It was the name the city gave to orphan kids, those who didn't have a family name of their own. It was only slightly better than being randomly assigned a number to take as a family name, and sometimes Naruto thought he might've actually preferred that.

Sakura bit her lip slightly and nodded.

"But you don't have to call me that," Naruto said quickly. "You can call me Naruto. Just...Naruto."

"Okay, Just Naruto," she said with a giggle. "Did you get into the academy?"

Naruto's face lit up like the sun. "Yeah!" he half said, half shouted. "I did! What about you? Did you get in?"

Sakura nodded happily, and a grin spread across her face. "Yeah, I did too," she said. "My parents were super, super happy for me. We had a little party and everything."

"That's so cool," Naruto said, leaning back and putting his head down on the brightly colored tiles of the roof. "I wish I had gotten a party. That would be so cool."

"It was," Sakura agreed. They lay there in the sun for a long time, enjoying the festival below and each other's company. Eventually the sun began to dip lower in the sky though, and the sounds of Naruto digesting the mountain of ramen he had eaten earlier faded.

"You wanna go exploring?" Naruto asked, sitting up. He suddenly felt _ready_ to go out and _do_ something, but he wanted to do it with Sakura if at all possible.

She blinked once, the setting run glimmering in eyes, and cracked a smile. "Okay," she said, with a delicate shrug of her shoulders. "Where should we go though?"

"Oh man, I know the _best _places to go exploring," Naruto said. It was true – Naruto didn't care much for chores, and he found that by fleeing to the rooftops and scampering about, he could sometimes avoid doing his share of the work. "Come on," he said, sliding down the roof they were standing on and onto a teal colored one below.

Sakura followed him, hesitantly at first, but then with more confidence, and soon they were both dashing across the rooftops in breathless laughter. Every once and a while a Shinobi would spot them, but the mysterious protectors of the village never interfered. Naruto like to think it was because they knew that he and Sakura would be Shinobi themselves soon.

Eventually, they reached the oldest section of the city – the Uchiha compound. Gleaming white walls separated the co-founders of Konohagakure from the rest of the populace, but Naruto and Sakura simply scrambled over them, undaunted.

They continued along, quieter now, in case they were caught and exiled. The Uchiha compound was much quieter and emptier than the rest of the city, but both Naruto and Sakura could hear someone speaking a short ways off. They made their way towards the voice, curiosity and adventurous spirit driving them to continue.

They finally reached the source of the voice, peeking over a large bannister to see what must've been the entire Uchiha clan assembled in a courtyard. One Uchiha stood on a raised platform – he seemed to be reading from a large scroll, but Naruto couldn't quite make out what he was saying.

"That's Uchiha Fugaku," Sakura whispered so quietly that Naruto could barely hear her. "He's the head of the Uchiha clan."

"Really?" Naruto whispered back, matching her tone. "He must be crazy strong then."

"He is," came a third whisper from behind him.

It took all of Naruto's self control not to leap back in fear, and he turned around to see two Uchiha in front of him. One was his age, pale, with blue-black hair and a curious look on his face. The other was older, though not by much – maybe twelve, or fourteen. He had long, pronounced tear-troughs, and his hair was a much glossy black than the younger ones'.

"Looks like we've got ourselves two little intruders, Sasuke," the older one whispered, just loud enough for Naruto and Sakura could hear. "Think we should escort them out before dad gets angry?"

The younger one nodded emphatically, and then next thing Naruto knew he was being unceremoniously yanked through the air.

He landed butt first on the other side of the Uchiha wall, back in Konoha Proper, and scowled up at Sasuke and the older Uchiha. Sakura was sitting next to him, as dumbfounded by the older one's speed as Naruto was.

"I'd better get back," the older one said. "Dad'll miss me. You give 'em the talk?" Sasuke nodded happily. "Then I'll cover for you. Later." He vanished in a puff of smoke.

"You can't be here," Sasuke said, crossing his arms and staring down at him. "This is Uchiha property, and it's off-limits to people like you."

"Whaddya mean, people like us?" Naruto shot back. He pushed himself to his feet and pointed a stubby, defiant finger in Sasuke's direction. "We can go wherever we want! We're explorers!"

Sasuke sniffed dismissively "You're not explorers."

"Are too! Aren't we Sakura?"

"We're exploring," Sakura explained, her tone diplomatic. "Doesn't that make us explorers?"

Sasuke frowned, apparently trying and failing to find a flaw in that logic. "Well, you can't explore here," he said. "Only Uchihas can explore here. You can explore over there though." He pointed to somewhere off in the northwest, where Naruto could see a large bell tower. "It's really cool," Sasuke finished.

"You wanna come with us?" Sakura asked, smiling. Naruto groaned, less than thrilled with the prospect of Sasuke joining them, but he kept his mouth shut.

Sasuke cast a hesitant glance back towards where the rest of the Uchiha were gathered. "I don't know…" he said, his voice obviously conflicted. "They're reading the history of the Uchiha Clan. It's pretty important."

"Oh," Sakura said, slightly crestfallen. "Well, that's fun."

"I guess," Sasuke said with a shrug. "I've already heard the history a million times though, so it's getting pretty boring."

Naruto and Sakura exchanged glances – Sakura's face was questioning and a little pleading, and Naruto's was just screaming "please don't make me do this please don't make me invite look at him and ugly smug face oh man please Sakura?"

Eventually however, Sakura won, and Naruto turned back to Sasuke. "So come on then," he said. "If you already know your clan's history, what's the point of sitting around being bored by it?"

Sasuke frowned and threw another look backwards. "I…guess…" he said after a moment. "I guess that makes sense. Itachi will cover for me. I'll bet Dad never even notices that I'm gone!" He snickered and hopped off the wall, landing gracefully on the rooftop next to them.

They all introduced themselves again and set off towards the bell tower Sasuke had pointed to. "So are you gonna be going to the academy?" Naruto asked as they ran.

"Don't be stupid Naruto," Sakura said before Sasuke could answer. "Of course he's going to the academy, he's an _Uchiha_. Pretty much _all_ Uchiha go to the academy."

Naruto did his best to suppress a groan. There would be three hundred students in the academy, but he got the feeling he was going to be running into Uchiha Sasuke way more than was strictly necessary.

The three of them clambered up the bell tower, as fast as they could, and when they finally reached the top, all tensions were forgotten in favor of pure, childish awe. The tower wasn't the tallest structure around, but the city still stretched on beneath it for miles in every direction, and the three six year olds couldn't get enough of it.

They sat up there for what seemed like a short eternity, talking and laughing in the way only children could, without hesitation or reservation. They talked about what they all expected to learn from the academy. They learned about Sasuke's brother, who was already a Jonin, and according to Sasuke, an ANBU captain.

"And he's only fifteen?" Sakura asked.

"That's a load of crap," Naruto said. "You graduate the academy when you're fifteen."

"Not Itachi," Sasuke said, shaking his head. "He's the best, so they put him in the accelerated program. He only went to the academy four years, and he learned _all_ the disciplines – covert, assault, scout, and diplomat."

Naruto scowled. "Oh really."

"Yeah, really!"

Naruto stuck out his tongue at him, and Sasuke stuck his own tongue out back.

"Fireworks!" Sakura said, pointing out the sudden explosions of color in the darkening sky. Naruto and Sasuke, their argument temporarily forgotten, stared up in wonder as patterns of light danced across the stars. "There's the first Hokage, and Madara," Sakura explained as the fireworks exploded into two men shaking hands. "And there's the second Hokage…and there's the third, fighting in the First Great war!" Now the fireworks showed a man with a long katana cutting down an enemy ninja. "And there's the fourth Hokage…and the fifth…and the sixth!" Naruto laughed in delight as he saw the old man's face light up the entire village.

"There should be more Uchiha up there, if you ask me," Sasuke said, crossing his arms. Naruto shushed him, but Sakura didn't seem to notice.

"There's the seventh Hokage, killing the Kyuubi," she said. "And oh! Oh! There's the Sanin fighting Hanzo in the Third Great War!" She clapped her hands. "Look at Princess Tsunade!"

Sasuke mumbled something about Senju, and Naruto shot him a dirty look. They both glared at each other until the next round of fireworks erupted above them, and both of them dragged their gazes back up to the fire and stars.

_Fire and Stars_

Two years passed, and Naruto was eight. He was taller, and leaner – skinnier and more muscled than he ever could've imagined he'd be. It was still young muscle, a child's muscle, but it filled him with pride whenever he flexed in a mirror.

He still lived in the orphanage, sleeping on the floor surrounded by a dozen other kids his age. He would be leaving in a few years, moving into his own apartment (he'd the get the money…somehow, he hadn't really been paying attention when the old lady had explained the situation to him) and he couldn't wait to finally be rid of the place. Not that he was ever there anymore – there was a permanent cot set out for him in the attic of the Haruno household that he was allowed to crash on whenever he needed to. Sasuke had a cot there too, though he rarely ever used it. He claimed his dad didn't like it when he spent too much time in the civilian part of town.

Naruto sat in a chair in the waiting room, idly swinging his feet back and forth. Sasuke was still testing, and Sakura had run out to get some lunch for the three of them, so he sat alone, staring down a few of his classmates. Senju Keikan smirked at him from the far corner, and Naruto just barely managed to repress the urge to shove his face in. A Hyuga girl tried vainly to hide as his gaze swept over her. He smiled. None could avoid his all-powerful stare. Tremble before the might of Kiji Naruto, who will certainly not be dead last for the second year in a row.

Sakura sat down in the seat next to him, handing him a Styrofoam bowl of steaming hot ramen. "Only one?" He asked, his tone somewhat offended. She rolled her eyes and used her foot to nudge a bag towards him. It was filled with two other bowls, and Naruto smiled happily as he dug in.

"How do you think you did?" He asked in between bites.

Sakura bit her lip with her canine, something she always did when she was thinking about what to say. "I think I did well," she said, somewhat hesitantly. "I know I passed."

"Good for you!" Naruto said. "Your parents will be happy about that."

"My whole clan will," Sakura said. "But that's not the problem."

"There's a problem?"

Sakura sighed. "Naruto, after this year we get sorted into our Pre-discipline school."

"I know," Naruto said. "So what?"

"So you're obviously going to be going to Pre-assault school," Sakura said. "Sasuke could technically go Pre-covert, maybe, but he's most likely going to Pre-assault too. But me?" She placed a hand on her chest. "I don't know. They might put me in Pre-diplomat."

"Ew," Naruto said, making a face.

"Look, it's not that bad," Sakura said. "I don't mind the diplomat stuff. But I'd rather be with you and Sasuke!"

"Yeah, that would suck if we went to different disciplines," Naruto said, cracking open his second bowl of ramen. "Then we couldn't all be teammates."

Sakura nodded glumly.

"But don't worry about it," Naruto said. "If you don't Pre-assault and me and Sasuke do-"

"Sasuke and _I_."

"Me and Sasuke do, then we'll go to Iruka-sensei and make him transfer you!" Naruto finished happily. "And if he doesn't do it, we can go to old man Hokage, and make _him_ do it!"

Sakura gave a reluctant smile. "Sounds like a plan."

Sasuke came back into the waiting room a few minutes after that, looking just as smug and self-assured as usual. "Piece of cake," he said, sitting next to Sakura and taking a bowl of ramen and a tomato from her bag. "I'll bet you anything I'll be first in the class again."

"You're on!" Naruto said.

Sakura shook her head and sighed. "No bet."

"Oh come on Haruno," said Keikan, sauntering up to the three of them. "Uchiha here might think he has the top spot locked up, but he's forgetting about me." Keikan was tall for his age, and lanky, but Naruto knew from personal experience how strong he was and how hard he could pack a punch. He had pale skin and spiky white hair, and a red band tattoo on his face, stretching from temple to temple.

"I didn't forget about you," Sasuke said, not bothering to look up from his meal. "I just decided that you were irrelevant."

Keikan snarled. "Really funny," he said, turning and walking away. "But we'll see who's laughing after the grades come out, Uchiha."

Sasuke didn't deign to give a response, but Naruto grinned and shot Keikan the bird as he walked off.

"He's such a jerk," Sakura muttered once he was out of earshot.

"He's a Senju," Sasuke said. "It's to be expected."

Sakura shook her head. "His cousins are alright," she said. "It's really just Keikan."

"His cousins are just as bad," Sasuke said, draining the last of the broth from his bowl. "They're just more subtle about it. Let's get out of here."

"That's what I'm talking about," Naruto said, grinning and grabbing his last bowl. "One for the road. This place is so boring."

They both stood and threw a glance back at Sakura, who was chewing on her lip, a conflicted look in her eyes.

"Are you coming?" Sasuke asked, in a tone that made it very clear he didn't particularly care whether she was coming or not. (Naruto knew he cared though. Sasuke liked to act like he didn't give a shit what Sakura thought, but his carefully sculpted "aloof bastard" personality slipped far too often for it to be anything other than an elaborate mask.)

"It's just…the teachers don't want us leaving until all the testing is done," Sakura said.

Naruto and Sasuke exchanged looks, sky blue eyes meeting obsidian. They both smirked simultaneously. "So what?" Naruto asked, extending his hand to Sakura. "Come on Sakura. Take a walk on the wild side."

Sakura gave a very undignified little snort. "You two are ridiculous," she said, taking his hand with her own. "And you're going to get all three of us in trouble."

"The only reason they want us to stay is because the Hokage is speaking later," Sasuke said as they pushed open the door into the bright sunshine. "And they want us all to go see that. So we'll go to that, and they won't get mad at us."

"I guess," Sakura said, her hand slipping out of Naruto's. The world seemed suddenly a little darker and colder, but only for a moment. The smell of something delicious filled Naruto's nostrils, and he bounded ahead of his two friends in search of the source.

"Naruto!" Sasuke shouted. "Where are you going?"

"I'll be right back!" Naruto promised, before squeezing between two large women carrying baskets and shoving his way through the crowd. He followed the mystery scent across the street, scrambling over a chain link fence and emerging in a small garden.

He glanced around. Koi pond, immaculately cut grass, colorful trees and flowers. The architecture was old fashioned, and he could see several banners with a red setting sun on them.

Naruto bit his lip. It was obviously a clan compound of some kind, but he couldn't for the life of him figure out what clan it was supposed to be. It looked small – maybe Hatake? No, their symbol was a tanto. It could've been Kamizuki…but their symbol was a moon. Naruto kicked a rock in frustration. He wasn't good at this. He wished Sakura were here, so she could tell him whose yard he was standing in.

"Enjoying the view?"

Naruto spun around to see a man sitting idly behind him. He was older than Naruto, but he wasn't old like the Hokage – more old like the teachers at the academy. He had shaggy black hair and wore a Shinobi headband on his forehead, with an oversized green jacket hung loosely around his shoulders. The faintest wisps of a beard cling to his chin, and a cigarette was clenched beneath his teeth.

He sat in a lawn chair, with a small table in front of him. The table had a few drinks and some food – Naruto smelled octopus and immediately remembered why he had even come here in the first place.

"That smells good," he said, pointing at the table.

The man gave a bemused grin. "Good," he said. "I made it myself."

Naruto took a hesitant step closer. "Why are you sitting here?" He asked.

"I'm waiting for someone."

"Waiting for who?"

"Hold up on the questions for a minute," the man said, holding up a hand. "It's my turn. What's your name?"

"Naruto."

The man gave him a curious look. "Family name?"

Naruto grimaced. "Kiji."

"Ah," the man said, taking a short drag on his cigarette. "Hello then, Naruto."

"Hi."

"I'm Sarutobi Asuma," the man said.

"You don't live here," Naruto said immediately. He knew the Sarutobi clan crest – a stylized flame. The Hokage kept on in his office.

Asuma nodded. "I don't," he admitted. "I'm just waiting for someone."

"Who?" Naruto asked.

"A girl," Asuma said. He blew a cloud of smoke in Naruto's general direction. Naruto scowled and waved it away. It smelled awful and stuck to his tongue.

"What kind of girl?"

"Just a regular girl," Asuma said with a shrug. He paused however, and then shook his head. "Actually, not a regular girl at all." He took a long, heavy drag on his cigarette. "You wanna hear a story, kid?"

"What kind of story?"

"It's a love story," Asuma said. "Hopefully."

Naruto made a face. "Bleh."

"Oh come on," Asuma said, laughing. "It's short, and not all that bad. See, there was this kid in the Shinobi academy once, right? And he was friends with a girl."

Naruto nodded. He was in the Shinobi academy, and he was also friends with a girl. He had the sneaking suspicion this story was about him.

"This kid's name was Asuma," Asuma said, and Naruto promptly lost interest. "The girl's name was Kurenai. And now, Asuma, you see, had a bit of a reputation with the ladies, if you get what I'm saying."

"Yeah," Naruto said, although he didn't really get at all what Asuma was saying because he was too busy watching a bumblebee go from flower to flower.

"So Asuma played around a bit, because he was young and stupid and kid, when you get older you'll really start to appreciate what women have to offer." Asuma chuckled slightly. "But after a while he realized something."

"What did he realize." Naruto said, still watching the bumblebee. If hours of sitting through boring academy classes had taught him anything, it was that parroting back statements in the form of questions was a great way to pretend to be engaged.

"He realized that all the fun in the world didn't mean anything if you couldn't find the right girl when it was all over," Asuma said. "And then he realized that the right girl had been next to him all along."

"Mm-hm."

Asuma either didn't notice or didn't care that Naruto was obviously more interested in a solitary cloud than the story, because he kept going. He blew sloppy, misshapen rings of smoke as he did so. "The only problem was that by the time Asuma figured out who the right girl was, she had already moved on. And rightly so! Because Asuma…" he sighed, and glanced wistfully off towards the clan compound. "Because Asuma had been kind of a jackass," he admitted.

Naruto glanced up at him.

"Oh for the love of…forget I said that last word," Asuma muttered, waving his hand around. "She'll be here soon, kid. You should scram."

Naruto narrowed his eyes. "Maybe I don't wanna scram," he said, crossing his arms and planting his feet. "Maybe I wanna stay right here."

Asuma laughed and stood, and Naruto realized for the first time how tall the man really was. "Come on, kid," he said. "Don't make me remove you."

Naruto scowled and began to settle into his fiercest taijutsu stance. But before he got the chance to kick the fight off, he was interrupted by a high-pitched shout.

"What are you doing here?!" Naruto glanced around Asuma to see a dark haired girl in a Chunin flak jacket and red pants. She was standing with her arms cross, staring at both of them with angry, rippled red eyes. Naruto snapped his fingers happily as the clan name jumped to mind – _Yuhi_. Sasuke had told him that they were a clan that had served under the Uchiha during the Warring Clans era. Their eyes were red because of the gene mixing with the Sharingan – many of them were also proficient with genjutsu.

Naruto beamed with pride. The history lessons Sasuke and Sakura insisted on giving him were helping. There was no way he'd be dead last again.

"Kurenai!" Asuma said, whirling around. "I was waiting for you."

Kurenai shook her head and walked past him, keeping her eyes fixed on Naruto.

"I brought vodka!" Asuma said as she walked past. "And takowasa!"

Kurenia grabbed Naruto's wrist, long thin fingers with a surprisingly tough grip. Naruto didn't even struggle as she pulled him up the steps into the clan compound. He was too busy watching Asuma collapse into grass below, running both hands through his hair.

Kurenai shut the door with a loud thud, and Naruto collected himself. The inside of the Yuhi compound was quiet and sparsely decorated. White and red were the dominant colors, but Naruto caught of bit of orange mixed in as well. He smiled to himself. He loved orange.

"You're Naruto," Kurenai said. She shrugged off her flak jacket, hanging it on a hook near the wall. Her arms were bare, pale and almost delicate looking.

"Yeah," Naruto said, not in the least bit surprised that she knew his name. He was more surprised when people didn't know him, which unfortunately meant he was surprised a lot. "What's it to you?"

"Just surprised to find you here," Kurenai said. She undid the heavy knot of black hair, letting it tumble and cascade around her shoulders. "I should get this cut," she murmured to herself, glancing at a mirror. "It's getting to be a handful." She looked back down at Naruto, then cast a quick look out the window. "Were you talking to Asuma?" She asked, leading Naruto into a small kitchen.

"Yeah."

"And what kind of nonsense was he filling your head with?" Kurenai asked. She poured herself a bowl of cereal and began munching on it, no milk.

Naruto shrugged. "Just some stuff about a pretty girl he really likes," he said, taking a seat at the counter. "Can I have some?"

Kurenai smiled and poured him a bowl, which he tore into ravenously despite having eaten three bowls of ramen just a few minutes ago.

"Did he really say that?"

"Yup," Naruto said in between bites. The cereal wasn't the best, but he was too hungry to care. Smelling the octopus out in the yard and not being able to eat it had been practically torture. He looked up at Kurenai, then checked to make sure the coast was clear before leaning towards her. "I think he was talking about you," he said in his best whisper.

Kurenai's eyes sparkled, and the corners of her mouth twitched. "Yeah, I'll bet he was," she said. "That man…that _boy_ has the gall to treat me like…like I wasn't even there for Sage knows how many years, and once he finally gets it through his thick skull that maybe, just maybe, I have actual feelings like a human being, he…" she sighed. "Sorry, Naruto. I'm a little on edge."

"You can keep talking," Naruto said, doing his best to keep his words decipherable despite the mountain of cereal in his mouth. "Got any milk?"

"In the fridge," Kurenai said, turning away and pacing around the kitchen. Naruto pulled open the fridge, grabbing the milk and helping himself to some grapes while he was at it. "It's just, my life is good right now, you know?" She asked nobody in particular. "I have a…huge promotion coming up, mine for the taking. Sure, Danzo has a…reputation, but the pay is fantastic. And…and I'm engaged," she said.

"Mm-hm." Was that a banana? Naruto snagged that too. He had found that one could never go wrong with a banana.

"Of course, it's a political engagement," Kurenai said. Her voice had taken on a nervous edge, and Naruto noticed that she was talking much more quickly than she had been when the conversation had begun. "But I've met him! He's very nice. An academy teacher. And our relationship with the Umino has been…fragile, recently. So this is a very good thing!" She nodded to herself.

"Sounds like you've got it all figured out then," Naruto said.

"Yeah…doesn't it?" Kurenai said with a laugh that didn't sound like she found anything particularly funny. Naruto stared up at her, and she stared back at him.

He swallowed down another spoonful of soggy cereal. "Are you not happy?" He asked finally.

"What? That's…beside the point," she said, turning away. "Shinobi serve as tools for their clan and their village. Happiness comes from successfully performing your duty."

"Well, yeah," Naruto said, nodding. He had heard that sentiment countless times since enrolling in the academy. "But some duties make you more happy than others! Like the duty to practice taijutsu and become a better Shinobi makes me way more happier than the duty to clean the toilets." He made a face, and Kurenai hid the beginnings of a smile with her hand. "So yeah," he said with a shrug, jumping back down off the chair and grabbing an apple from a nearby counter. "The trick is finding the happy jobs, and not letting them make you do the unhappy ones."

"You're…" Kurenai said, looking at him with a look on her face that Naruto couldn't quite place, "exactly right. And…impossible."

"I don't know what that means," Naruto said, rubbing the apple on his pants to make sure it was clean.

"You're an orphan in the Shinobi academy!" Kurenai said, rushing out of the kitchen and beckoning Naruto to follow her. He did, and watched as she began putting her flak jacket back on. "No clan connections, no special skills, horrible grades-"

"Hey!"

"Sorry Naruto, but it's true," Kurenai said. She opened the door and peered outside. The table was still there, along with the chairs, but Asuma was notably missing. "Your grades might set an academy record. Come on!" She grabbed his hand and pulled him outside, past the walls that separated the Yuhi compound from the rest of the village.

They emerged into the bustling streets of Konohagakure, Naruto hanging on for dear life as Kurenai weaved in and out of the pedestrian traffic. He stumbled along as best he could, trying to keep out, but Kurenai was simply moving too quickly for him to do anything except hope she didn't let go.

And then suddenly, they weren't moving. Naruto felt Kurenai's grip unclench and she was gone, reappearing several dozen feet down the road in front of a tall, gangly figure who was most certainly Asuma.

Naruto couldn't hear what they were saying, and he didn't honestly care. He was hungry.

"Naruto?"

He turned and saw Sasuke and Sakura staring at him curiously, popsicles in their hands. Sakura handed him, one, which he happily accepted.

"What's going on with those two?" Sakura asked, nodding towards Asuma and Kurenai.

"I don't really know," Naruto said. "Think we should go see the Hokage speak?"

"That's why we were looking for you," Sasuke said. "Where did you go?"

"An adventure," Naruto said, and they started walking towards the Hokage's office. "It was a pretty boring one though."

_A Boring One_

The Hokage stood on the balcony outside his office, red and white robes flapping majestically in the wind. Naruto stared up at him, tossing the now bare popsicle stick to the ground as he waited for the old man to speak.

The plaza below the Hokage's balcony was packed full of people, Shinobi and civilian alike. An almost unnatural quiet had settled over the entire crowd – the only sound that could be heard was the wind whistling idly through the empty streets.

When the Hokage spoke, people listened.

"People of Konohagakure," the Hokage said, his voice clear and strong and hard as steel. "I come to you today with good news." He glanced out over the crowd, and Naruto could've sworn that the Hokage had given him the tiniest fraction of a nod. "Eight years ago," he said, "after the tragedy of the Kyuubi attack, I took the mantle of Hokage back from Namikaze Minato, the Seventh Hokage. I intended to take it back for only a short time, until a suitable replacement could be found…but no candidate was."

"You don't think…" Sakura whispered to the two of them.

"But now, finally, I have found a worthy heir," The Hokage said, and Naruto could feel the tension in the plaza skyrocket. "Though he is young, he is our village's brightest and most talented Shinobi. I will take him under my wing, and in four years time, he will replace me and become this village's Eight Hokage.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I give you your Hokage to be…Uchiha Itachi."

"Dude!" Naruto shouted at Sasuke, as the rest of the plaza erupted into cheers. "Your brother's gonna be Hokage!"

Author's Note

Shinobi Team 7 is a fic idea I've been kicking around in my head for a while – a massive, sprawling Naruto AU, with the goal of rewriting the world from the ground up so everything makes a little more sense. The basics involve removing the power creep, reworking the entire Ninja academy program to make a little more sense, and basically shifting the world on its axis to make everything a bit more…grounded.

It's a little hard to explain, but hopefully you all enjoy it.


	2. Academy Daze

"_I saw the trees of Konohagakure burn, and I knew true despair."_

_-Rokuro Shin, Commander of the Fire Daimyo's Samurai Army_

_Reflections on the 1__st__ Great War_

Two years passed, and Naruto was ten.

He sat outside a thin wooden door that lead into an office, where a lecture would be awaiting him. A decision would be made, in just a few minutes, regarding his future – his future as a Shinobi.

"Come in, Naruto," came the voice from beyond the wall. Naruto stood, exhaled heavily, and pushed open the door.

The silver haired instructor sat behind a desk, studying a few folders and scratching his head idly as he did so. His hair was silver and chin length, and he wore his forehead protector in a bandanna.

"Take a seat," he said, not looking up from his files.

Naruto sat, cracking his knuckles impatiently. He didn't know what was about to come, but he wished the instructor would hurry up and get it over with. The waiting was killing him.

"Kiji Naruto," the instructor said. "You passed the graduation exam."

Naruto slumped in his seat, exhaling heavily as he did so.

"By the skin of your teeth," the instructor continued. "One more missed question on the written test, one more misplaced punch in the taijutsu exam, and you would've been gone. But…here you are."

Naruto grinned.

"Don't smile," the instructor said. "Truth be told, it's a miracle you're still in the program. I'm being completely serious when I say there may be divine intervention involved."

Naruto shrugged. "I just…do my best."

"And it's just barely good enough, Naruto," the instructor said. "You're an anomaly. A point of data that makes no sense. You've got no clan, no sponsor, no heritage of any note. You're an orphan who somehow has wormed his way into the Konohagakure Shinobi program and has refused to let go."

Naruto swallowed. Kurenai was always telling him how odd his case was, how he shouldn't have been admitted into the academy with his heritage, but he had never really realized exactly what that meant before. Coming from Kurenai, it sounded like something vaguely interesting, but not all that relevant. Coming from an instructor, it sounded like something that would and could threaten his entire life.

"The last person to do something like this was the Seventh Hokage," the instructor said. "But he was a prodigy amongst prodigies, and you, Naruto, are not." He glanced up at Naruto, eyes boring holes in Naruto's blue t-shirt, and then returned his gaze to the files in his hand. "The prospect of sending you off to one of the non-Konohagakure Shinobi academies has come up several times."

"What? No!" Naruto said, shooting to his feet. "You're not gonna make me, are you? I mean, I passed! You said I passed!"

"Relax," the instructor said, holding up a hand. "Nobody's sending you to any of the other academies, no matter how much better for you it might be."

Naruto scowled, but sat back down and shut his mouth.

"Look, it's really not all that bad," the instructor said, after making sure Naruto was done shouting. "I know there's a bit of a stigma here, especially among the academy kids, but our Shinobi organization wouldn't function without the other academies spread across the land of fire. Konohagakure only graduates a little over 100 Shinobi a year, but we need much more than that to keep our ranks steady. We have a high risk job."

"I don't wanna be a second rate Shinobi," Naruto said. "I wanna be the real deal."

The instructor rolled his eyes. "It's…true that the standards the Konohagakure academy sets are higher than the other academies. That's why many people think you would fit in better outside the village. But Naruto, the Shinobi created from the other academies are our backbone. And while the Konohagakure-graduated Shinobi might be more powerful on average, it isn't always the case. Might Guy, a highly respected Jonin, studied outside the village. He has a student who did the same. Sanin Jiraiya began his career outside Konohagakure as well. The kids there won't be from the Noble Shinobi Clans, they won't be as naturally skilled or as hypercompetitive as the students here. You might not be the top of your class, but you'd be up there. It would be a better environment for you, in all honesty."

Naruto shook his head emphatically, blond bangs swishing across the top of his field of vision. The instructor sighed, but didn't press the issue further.

"Well, if you're not going to consider reassignment, we might as well move on to other things," he said. "First of all, congratulations on graduating Pre-assault school. You'll be moving onto Assault School, which is your final step to becoming a true Shinobi." He sighed. "You'll attend Assault School for five years, and good news for you – it's much more difficult to fail out than either Basic or Pre-assault was."

"How come?"

"Because after two years of shuffling you guys around, seeing what three man cells worked the best, you've been assigned a team," the instructor said, leafing through a heavy file. "Failure to graduate would present problems to your teammates, and besides, the general rule is if you haven't failed yet, you're most likely in for the long haul."

"So…who's on my team?" Naruto asked, doing his best to keep the anticipation out of his voice and mostly failing.

"Shouldn't really come as any surprise," the instructor said. "Most kids get a sense of who they work best with long before the instructors make any official decisions." He plucked a paper from the folder and threw a quick glance at it. "Here we are. You've been put on Team a209d with Haruno Sakura and Uchiha Sasuke."

Naruto couldn't stop the grin from spreading over his face.

"Yeah, yeah, you're aloud to be happy," the instructor said. "They're your friends, and that's good. Because you're going to be spending a lot of time with them. And, coincidentally, with me."

"What? Why?"

"Because I'm your new personal tutor," the instructor explained. "Your grades are horrible. I'm going to make them better. When you graduate this academy, you'll probably still be last amongst your peers. But by every damn God in the Northern Pantheon, you won't be the worst in the history of the village."

Naruto nodded. "I can get behind that."

"Good. Our lessons start at 4'oclock tomorrow morning. Report to training ground 16. Ask for Mizuki."

_Ask For Mizuki_

Training ground 16 looked a lot like all the other training grounds surrounding it – flat terrain, carefully trimmed grass, posts lined up along one side for weapons practice. Mizuki stood in the center, Naruto struggling to balance himself on one hand.

"The basic structure of an Assault team is rather simple," Mizuki said, nudging Naruto's leg with a finger. Naruto grunted and readjusted his weight, doing his best to keep balanced and ignore the sweat dripping down his face. "It relies on three parts – a sword, a shield, and a net. The sword's job is to deal massive amounts of damage very quickly. They forgo defensive strength for offensive, using any means necessary to put opponents down. In your team, Team a209d, Sasuke is the sword position."

"Makes sense," Naruto grunted. Mizuki responded by nudging him again, and he felt his arm buckle before crashing exhausted into the ground.

"Back up," Mizuki said, and Naruto got back up. "The shield's job is draw enemy fire and endure it. They fight defensively, force the enemy to focus their attention on them, and allow the sword and the net to operate with relative impunity. You are your team's shield. Which is good, because endurance is the only thing you have going for you."

Naruto didn't bother responding to that. He knew it was true. He could take hits like nobody's business, and just keep getting up – even Sasuke had to push himself to put Naruto down for good.

"Finally, the net's job is battlefield control," Mizuki explained. "Its role offers the most variation in how this is accomplished – some do it with weapons, herding enemies into areas where the sword can strike them easily. Some use genjutsu, forcing the enemy to pound away at the shield. Some use seals, to limit effectiveness or redirect attacks. Sakura is your team's net, and based on her performance review she'll be very good at it."

"Yeah, she's pretty awesome, isn't she?" Naruto asked, beaming.

"You can get down now," Mizuki said. "I want you doing sit-ups."

Naruto groaned, but complied. "What's even the point of this?" He asked as he began cranking out sit-ups. "You said yourself that I've got great endurance."

"This isn't endurance training so much as physical conditioning, and something for you to do while I lecture you," Mizuki said. "Since it's obvious that you learn nothing in a classroom environment, I'm seeing if adding exercise to your studying routine helps some of this information stick."

"Uh, makes sense, I guess," Naruto said, shrugging.

"Anyway," Mizuki said, "I wanted to go over our itinerary for…however long it takes you to get up to speed. I'll start by outlining your strengths and weaknesses, and then explain exactly how we can improve on what you're good at and shore up what you're not. Sound good?"

"Yeah."

"At the most basic level, you're not so bad off," Mizuki said. "In fact, you being able to compete with the academy's other students without any kind of clan advantage is fairly incredible. You have none of the special breeding or early life training that usually defines Shinobi of this caliber. As said before, your endurance is excellent. You're strong, and clever, quick to adapt in combat and use the terrain to your advantage. And your chakra pool…has got to be some kind of mistake."

"Nah," Naruto said, carefully regulating his breathing like they had been taught, to maximize his efficiency. "I've just got a lot of chakra."

"A ridiculous amount of chakra," Mizuki said. "Your test results…_I _don't have that much chakra. I know _Jonin_ with less chakra." He ground his teeth. "It's too bad your chakra control is shit, or else you could be a monster."

"Hey!" Naruto said. "I…I don't get that. If I have more chakra than everyone else, why does it matter how much control I have?"

Mizuki rolled his eyes. "Because more chakra doesn't…" he paused. "You're never going to get the textbook explanation. Look at it this way. Imagine a Shinobi's chakra pool like a pond."

"Okay."

"The water is the chakra. The more chakra, the bigger the pond. Sakura, for example, has an average sized pond. Sasuke has a little more than that. You dwarf both of them. You have an ocean."

"Cool," Naruto said, grinning.

"Kind of. See, now imagine a jutsu like a cup. In order to power the jutsu, you need to pick up the water from your pool, and then fill the cup with it. Now, chakra control is where it gets a little tricky. The better the chakra control, the easier it is to transfer water from your pond, to the cup. Imagine it like…Sakura's chakra control is excellent. She uses a thimble to move the water, which means she's able to fill the cup right up to the brim and not spill any. Right?"

"Right, I guess."

"Sasuke has a cup, which means that he spills a little water in the process, but he manages to get most of it in. You though, you use a damn bathtub. You get a little water in the cup, but most of it spills all over the ground. And so all that chakra goes to waste. _And _your jutsu doesn't work like it's supposed to, because in the process of throwing your massive amounts of chakra around, you barely got any water in the cup. It's only half full" Mizuki paused and glanced down at Naruto. "Does any of this make sense?"

"A little bit," Naruto said. "But I mean, I have a lot of chakra. So it's not my fault that I can't really control it."

"Oh, good job Naruto," Mizuki said, though Naruto got the sense that he hadn't actually done a good job at all. "You completely bullshitted all responsibility off your own shoulders. Oh, it's not your fault you have horrible control, you're just _too awesome_. Forgive me, please, for ever doubting you."

Naruto frowned.

"Chakra pool size and chakra control aren't related at all," Mizuki said. "Just because you have a small chakra pool doesn't mean you have good chakra control, or vica versa. They're two unrelated statistics." He sighed. "So obviously, chakra control you're going to need to work on. Do push ups."

Naruto dutifully rolled over and started doing weak pushups, staring at the grass as if it would burst into flame if he stared hard enough.

"We'll work on your speed and taijutsu form, to enhance your close range effectiveness, and once your chakra control is good enough maybe move onto a bit of ninjutsu."

"Hell yeah," Naruto said, grinning and doing his best to not collapse into the dirt. "That's more like it!"

"But that's a long way off, of course," Mizuki said, and Naruto was sure he saw a quick smile flash across the instructor's face. "You have a…wind release affinity?"

"Yeah."

"But a report here says Sarutobi Asuma has taught you a fire release. Which you proceeded to attempt to use on a fellow student in a taijutsu only spar."

Naruto grit his teeth. "Keikan deserved it."

"As you deserved him beating the shit out of you after he realized you had missed," Mizuki said. "You were in the hospital for…only a few days? Surprising."

"I heal fast," Naruto said, shrugging. "Can I stop doing push ups now?"

Mizuki frowned, flipping through the papers in his hand. "Sure, whatever," he said. Naruto happily rolled over onto his back, panting and staring up at the pre-dawn sky. It was still littered with stars from the previous night, and Naruto did his best to identify the constellations as the dew cooled his sweaty back.

"Your file is full of all these odd little notes," Mizuki said. "I can't make any sense of it. But…" he let out a soft little laugh. "I guess that's not what I'm paid to do. I'll see if I can't teach you an earth release – the style of molding chakra for them will help with strengthening your body, which is important for any shield."

"Uh huh," Naruto said, panting.

"Sit up," Mizuki said. "We'll get started with a little chakra control. Now, close your eyes, and image the chakra inside you spiraling…"

_Spiraling_

Two years passed, and Naruto was twelve.

He dashed through the familiar streets, pushing past pedestrians, blurting out apologies as fast as he could. He hadn't had a pre-dawn lesson with Mizuki, which had thrown off his sleep schedule. And it wasn't like anyone in the orphanage was going to wake him up – he got the feeling that a lot of the kids there were scared of him, now that he had proved himself a halfway competent Shinobi-in-training.

Well, halfway competent might've been pushing it, but he was getting close. His chakra control, while not yet average, was climbing up from "miserable". His taijutsu form was leagues ahead of where it had once been. Mizuki had still refused to teach him any cool ninjutsu, but Naruto managed to struggle on despite that.

And besides, they had a _match_ today.

He skidded to a stop outside the Assault building and waved to the pair of Chunin stationed on the roof above the entrance. They waved back, and Naruto shot inside, practically flying down the hallway.

They had a _match _today.

He threw open the doors to the auditorium, where the twenty-nine other Assault school kids were sitting, lying down, or generally preparing. He spotted Sasuke and Sakura sitting towards the back of the room and headed towards them, slumping up against the wall in exhausted relief.

"It's about time you got here, idiot," Sasuke muttered. "I thought you were going to miss the whole thing."

"Are you kidding?" Naruto asked, rubbing the back of his neck. "You know me. Not always on time, but always there! Right?"

"Almost always," Sakura said. "Anyway, they finalized the rankings from last week."

"What? Seriously?" Naruto asked, looking around wildly. "Where? Where?"

"Right where they always are," Sasuke said, his tone only slightly annoyed. Naruto leapt back to his feet, tiredness forgotten in the face of seeing where they had placed after last week's competition.

He saw the screen mounted on the wall, eyes scrambling across the words displayed, trying to make sense of them. His excitement didn't help – the words began swimming, letters getting out of place and mixed up, but he forced himself to take a deep breath and power through it.

Year 209 Assault Rankings

Team A

Team D

Team J

Team C

Team F

Team B

Team G

Team E

Team I  
Team H

""You've got to be kidding me!" Naruto shouted. "How are we still number two? We rocked castle attack!"

"Keikan's team was a little bit faster," Sasuke said, cracking his knuckles and staring furiously at the floor. "It's Meisha. She was a damn blur on the tapes. She's been holding back in trials and spars, that's why we didn't know about it."

"So what now?" Naruto asked.

"We wait for the game to be announced," Sakura said with a shrug. "There's not much else we can do until we know who we're going up against and how."

So they sat in silence. Naruto did his best to entertain himself as the last few minutes ticked down, staring at the wall and then the clock, and then the ranking board, and then the other students. Kurenai's cousin, Musuu, gave him a happy little wave, which he returned. She was part of Team F, (technically Team a209f but that was just for outside the Assault school) who was currently sitting comfortably in the middle of the rankings. And if he remembered it right, she was dating Aichou, who was Team…I. Naruto winced for Aichou. Team I had been looking good at the beginning of the year, but had quickly spun into free fall for reasons unknown.

The sounds of someone onstage, and then the lack of sounds from everyone in the room immediately going quiet, shook Naruto out of his thoughts. He directed his attention to the stage, where one of the instructors was motioning towards the large screen that until just a few seconds ago had been obscured by a curtain.

"The game today," he said, loud enough for the entire room to hear clearly, "is capture the scroll."

"Aw man, I hate capture the scroll," Naruto said, watching the random letters flash across the screen as the matches were generated. "I really wanted to just whale on someone today."

"Might still get your wish," Sasuke said, staring intently at the screen.

Team a209d vs. Team s209f

Naruto stared, then exchanged a confused glance with Sasuke before both of them turned to look at Sakura.

"They can't be serious," she said, running her hands through her hair, which reached almost down to her waist. "We have to fight a Scout Team?"

"And Team J is going against Team F," Sasuke said. "They'll get the win, which means we're going to have to beat them off with a stick next week. Keikan's got to love this."

"This isn't fair!" Naruto said. "Why do we have to go against a Scout team? Everyone else gets to fight Assault! Now it doesn't even matter if we win!"

"But if we lose…" Sakura said, shaking her head. "Look, it isn't the end of the world. Everyone has to do this eventually. It's…bad timing for us, because now we can't really close the gap between us and Team A…"

"Of course we'd get them this week," Sasuke said, his face twisted so deeply into a scowl Naruto was afraid and somewhat hopeful that it might get stuck. "This is basically the most important week, and we get the match that doesn't matter."

"As much as I'd love to angst about it," Sakura said, grabbing Naruto's wrist and hauling him to his feet, "We're the third match, and we don't have long to figure out who we're up against."

"Come on Sasuke," Naruto said, hurrying after Sakura as she slipped through the crowd that had gathered. He pulled up alongside her as they hurried through the hallways, glancing back every few minutes to make sure Sasuke was keeping up with them.

"Does Sasuke seem…on edge, to you?" Naruto whispered to Sakura as they walked. "Like, more than usual, I mean."

"He's just worked up about Keikan," Sakura said, shrugging. "And he has good reason to be, especially given this match-up." She looked back, making sure Sasuke wasn't in hearing range, and her next words barely reached Naruto's ears. "And you know, their little feud has gotten worse since Itachi officially took office and Sasuke became their Uchiha heir."

"Oh, yeah," Naruto said, nodding his head. He didn't understand the legalities of inter-clan politics as well as Sakura, but he knew enough to understand why Sasuke and Keikan were always at each others' throats.

Despite being the two founding clans of Konohagakure, the Senju and the Uchiha had always had a strong rivalry. The era of Warring Clans had been long and bloody, and both sides produced powerful, prideful Shinobi. The blood between Sasuke and Keikan however, was especially bad. Before Itachi had been appointed Hokage, the top prospect for the title of the Eighth had been Senju Keisai, Keikan's older sister and heir of the Senju clan. Had she actually become Hokage like expected, Keikan would've ruled the Senju when he came of age. But when Itachi got the position instead, Keikan lost hope of becoming clan head while being forced to see Sasuke take on the title himself. It was a bad situation all around, not helped by the fact that Keikan was an ass and Sasuke could be kind of a stubborn jerk when he wanted to.

Sometimes, Naruto was glad he didn't have to muck around in the complicated clan bullshit. Uchiha or Senju, Sarutobi or Yuhi, they all sounded needlessly complicated and annoying.

He glanced back over at Sakura, only to find himself in the main hallway of the Scout building. He noticed his Traps teacher, Iruka, in one of the classrooms and gave a happy wave, receiving a somewhat confused one in return.

"Got them," Sakura said, clapping her hands and drawing Naruto's attention back to her and Sasuke. "Team s209f. Aburame Shino, Inuzuka Kiba, Hyuga Hinata."

Sasuke grunted. "I know the Hyuga. Quiet. Shy. Stutters sometimes."

"I remember Kiba!" Naruto said. He and the Inuzuka had gotten along well in Basic, but after being assigned to the specialty schools the two of them had drifted apart. "He was cool."

"Shino and I are in the same advanced physics class," Sakura said. "He's scary smart. But they are a scout team, so we should be able to beat them if we make it our game."

"Yeah…make it our game," Naruto said, though he wasn't entirely clear on exactly "make it our game" was supposed to mean. Sakura was always going on about battle plans, strategies and tactics and major and minor objectives. Naruto only understood about half of it. He just liked hitting things.

"They're a Scout team," Sakura explained. "And this is capture the scroll. They're going to want to make it cat and mouse, hit and run, get our scroll with as little combat as possible. We have to force them to fight us."

"Genjutsu?" Naruto asked. "We could hide the scroll, and then they'd have to fight us for it. Right?"

"It's a good idea, but they have a Hyuga," Sakura said. "I don't know what the world looks like through a Byakugan, certainly not well enough to make a convincing illusion. Do you guys?"

"That was a…rhetorical question, right?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke exhaled in a manner that might've been a quiet laugh if viewed in the right light. From the corner of his eye, Naruto could see Sakura's face flash with the mix of emotions Kurenai had assured him was puppy love. It stung Naruto, a little bit, that she wasn't looking at him like that. He ignored it. He was getting much better at ignoring things like that.

"We'll give the scroll to Sasuke," Sakura said finally, her face returning to its natural state of passive bemusement. "And then we'll make them fight us for it. If they want to get the scroll, they're going to have to knock us out…or at least incapacitate us in some way. Sasuke, you can use Fire release-"

"I can too!" Naruto cut in.

"-And Naruto can too…sort of," Sakura amended. "That'll keep Shino's kikaichu at bay. What about Kiba's nose?"

"Maybe some smoke," Sasuke said. "It could neutralize his sense of smell, but we'd honestly be better off with…" he trailed off, looking at Naruto with a weary curiosity. "Stink bombs."

Naruto's grin stretched its way out until it covered his entire face.

This match was going to be fun.

_Going to be fun_

Naruto couldn't see the opposing team from where he stood, but he didn't need to see them to know where they were.

He, Sakura, and Sasuke stood in the main gym, a massive, roofless arena that served as the Academy's primary training ground. Dense forestation, courtesy of the Senju clan, nearly blotted out the sun, but Naruto could see a few bold tendrils of light poking through the leafy branches.

He glanced over towards the stark stone wall that separated the gym from the rest of the building. He couldn't see the instructors that were watching the match, but he knew they couldn't be far away. They were never far away.

"Ten…" Sakura said to herself, nervously clutching at the stink bombs in her hands. She was counting down until the beginning of the match, counting down the final few seconds, and Naruto found apprehension mixing with excitement in the pit of his stomach as she wound her way closer to zero.

"Zero."

The arena was suddenly supernaturally loud as Naruto kicked his senses into overdrive. His nose was never going to be the equal of an Inuzuka's, his ears never as powerful as an Umino's, his eyes never as sharp as a Hyuga's, but he was still able to smell and hear and see things that others would miss. The snap of a branch. The shift of a shadow. The salty tinge of sweat on damp air.

Beside him, Sasuke took a careful, measured step forwards. His head was cocked, slightly, and he was staring intently off into the distance. Naruto saw his friend's eyes widen in realization, and suddenly everything sprung into motion.

Sakura threw the stink bombs down, trying to break them on the faux-forest floor, but before they could burst they were intercepted by a small swarm of buzzing kikaichu, who vanished as quickly as they had appeared.

"Son of a bitch!" Sakura shouted, her voice high pitched and surprised. Kunai flashed into her hands, but before she could shift into a defensive position more kikaichu slammed into her, knocking her back.

Naruto was quick enough to see it all happen, but not quick enough to react. Sasuke, his hands blurring together, flying through seals, managed to get off a single fireball before Kiba crashed into his side, both of them vanishing behind several bushes. Naruto could hear them fighting, and knew Sasuke would be alright – Sasuke was better than anyone in the academy, as much as Naruto hated to admit it. Sakura was the one that needed help.

The other team had been way faster than they had anticipated – that, or they were simply being more aggressive. Sakura had seemed sure they would stick to the shadows, try to separate them with genjutsu and traps before moving in for the kill, but Team s209f seemed determined to be unpredictable.

Naruto body flickered forward, the world blurring around him as he streaked towards Shino, who was pressing the advantage the kikaichu had afforded him against Sakura. The pink haired shinobi was on the defensive, but the kikaichu slowing her down meant that her dodge oriented, fluid taijutsu style was struggling against Shino's slow but heavy strikes.

Naruto planted a foot in Shino's back and kicked, but the boy simply burst into a cloud of kikaichu, which swarmed Naruto in a chorus of buzzes and clicks.

Naruto stumbled back, pressing his hands together in the seals that had become so familiar over the years.

_Snake, rat, snake, tiger._

He inhaled deeply, the chakra in his lungs flaring to a hot, dense life. When he exhaled, it wasn't just air that left his mouth – it was a cloud of ash.

_Fire Release: Ash Pile Burning Technique _

He saw a flash of pink in the corner of his vision, as Sakura threw herself clear of the ash cloud just in time. It engulfed the kikaichu that had been attacking them, the superheated ash roasting them alive in mere moments. Naruto could feel the heat of the ash on his face, but as quickly as it had come, it faded.

Naruto grimaced. The technique still wasn't perfect – it was supposed to last much longer, and he had never been able to ignite the cloud like Asuma was able to – but it had served its purpose. He saw Sakura attack a reeling Shino, and readied himself to help her finish him off.

Before he could move however, he was thrown off balance by a leg sweeping into the backs of his knees. He let out a surprised shout and went down, hitting the ground hard. His vision flashed, and his breath fled him, but he managed to keep himself together enough to roll and avoid what would've been a finishing blow.

He popped to his feet just in time to deflect another attack, and found himself face to face with Hyuga Hinata. The veins around her inhumanly white eyes bulged, and sweat stuck her short purple hair to her face. She had a new headband slung over her forehead – instead of the ratty black one Naruto remembered from the occasional glimpse on his way to Iruka's class, she wore a new white one with a stylized sun printed on it. She swirled forwards, kicking up dirt and leaves as she did so, and Naruto stumbled back.

_Oh, shit._

He juked left, and then took off right, but Hinata managed to keep pace with him, forcing him to swing wide around where Sakura and Shino were exchanging blows. Naruto brought his hands together for another ash cloud, but Hinata struck at him, her palm glowing with pale fire, and he was forced to abandon the technique before desperately throwing himself out of the way of the attack.

Hinata, being a Hyuga, was a practitioner of the legendary Gentle Fist taijutsu style. Feared all across the elemental nations for its ability to bypass almost all traditional defenses, one touch could put a Shinobi out of commission. She lashed out with both palms, her mouth set in a grim, determined line, and Naruto surprised himself by managing to knock both of the attacks away. Gentle Fist users were the bane of shields like him, capable of downing them in moments of their attacks landed, and so he was going to have to change up his usual taijutsu style if he wanted to survive. He ducked under one strike, then back flipped over another, managing to land a kick on the side of Hinata's head that sent her spinning. She attacked again, but he planted his palm in her elbow and shoved her assault wide.

He grinned. He could do this. All he needed to do was be quick, confident, and-

His side exploded in pain, and suddenly all he could see was Hinata, her arms weaving a complex chakra pattern around him. Her fingers brushed against him lightning quick, tiny explosions erupting where she touched, and Naruto gave a desperate scream as he tried to separate. She wouldn't let him, though he saw her bite her lip regretfully as she placed a palm on his chest.

There was a burst of chakra and he fell back onto his ass, panting heavily and doing his best not to scream bloody murder. He tried to move, to summon chakra, to do anything, but the rest of his body was being less than cooperative.

"Your ch-chakra system is com-completely shut down," Hinata explained. "D-don't move, and you w-w-won't make the internal d-damage too bad. I'm s-sorry."

_No._

He couldn't go down like this.

_No._

If Hinata could join the fray alongside her teammates, Sakura and Sasuke wouldn't last long. She was devastating at close range – alone, she was no match for his teammates, but with someone to help create openings, she would tear through Team a209d

_No._

Naruto pulled on every trick Mizuki had taught him on summoning chakra – deep breaths, spiraling, picturing the chakra in his head – but nothing worked. He felt unnaturally cold, as if some kind of fire inside him had died.

_No._

He couldn't let this happen. If they lost here, they'd go into a nosedive in the rankings. You didn't lose to scout teams. Keikan would never let them hear the end of it.

_No. No. No._

_**No.**_

And suddenly, the fire was back. It roared through him, red hot and powerful, nearly overwhelming in its potency. It flooded his veins, burning the pain away and replacing it with a raw, vicious anger. His eyes flashed open, and he saw Hinata staring at him in open-mouthed shock with her freak eyes.

He felt _good_. He felt _strong_. He felt _fast_.

He leapt to his feet and was surprised to see Hinata react so slowly. She had been quick before, but now she was painfully slow, as if moving through water instead of air. Naruto shot forward and landed a punch on her side without even trying. He could _feel_ ribs break beneath him, and an almost comically drawn out shriek of pain reached his ears a moment later.

He grinned, and his blood roared beneath his skin, his head pounding, his vision swimming with a curious haze. He heard voice drifting inside his ears – laughter and screams and everything in between, mixing together in a primal cacophony. Wild laughter bubbled in the bottom of his throat, eventually bursting out into the open as he gleefully kicked Hinata around like a ragdoll.

The Hyuga's efforts to defend herself from the onslaught, while valiant, were ultimately useless. She managed to get a forearm between her face and Naruto's kick, but it simply broke as his attack connected, spraying beautiful crimson blood high into the air. She tried to body flicker away but he was far, far faster, and slammed the back of her head into the dirt before she could get more than a few feet. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head, loosing their otherworldly whiteness and reverting to pale violet, but Naruto didn't let that slow him down.

She was weak, and he was strong. It was really quite simple. She would be broken, because he demanded it. He grabbed her collar and tsked in frustration as she went limp, her eyelids closing and her blood staining the false forest floor. It wouldn't be as fun if she couldn't fight back, but Naruto wasn't going to let something as insignificant as consciousness get in the way of enforcing his will on the world.

He brought his arm back to deliver the finishing blow, somewhat disappointed to realize that he wouldn't be able to watch the light fade from her eyes, but before he could crush her skull with his fist, something strong and slender wrapped around his wrist.

He whirled, snarling at whatever had interrupted him, and Sakura released his wrist only to drive her forehead into his nose. It hurt, but not nearly as much as it should have, and he gave her a backhand across the face that sent her spinning.

He turned back to Hinata, but somehow her unconscious body had managed to vanish out from under him. He spied a flash of blue – Sasuke – vanishing into the forest, and then Kiba crashed into his side.

The attack was hard, and fast, but Naruto recovered quickly and knocked the Inuzuka away. Something hit him in the back of the head, but by the time he whirled around it was already gone – and then Sakura was back, lashing out at him with a light-but-quick flurry of punches. He took a few to the side, blocked another, but then Sasuke landed a haymaker on one cheek, and he hit the dirt hard.

"Get on him!" Somebody shouted, and Naruto tried to leap to his feet only to feel a crushing weight over him. He screeched in frustration, his voice sounding high and inhuman even to his own ears, and when he glanced up he could see two instructors over him.

Then something hit the back of his head, and the world swirled into an impossibly inky blackness.

_Impossibly Inky Blackness_

When Naruto awoke, he didn't exactly awake. Instead, he opened his eyes to a sort of half consciousness, a dreamy, nebulous balance between the waking world and his own dreams.

Two men stood above him, talking in low tones. Their words only barely reached his ears, despite the fact that they were standing right next to him.

"I was afraid this would happen," one figure said. The voice sounded old and tired and familiar, and Naruto felt like he should've been able to put a face to it but he couldn't. "It's beginning to unravel. It can't hold back the beast much longer."

"It's still got some life in it," said the second figure, his voice younger but equally tired. "And Minato's seal is…different from the others. Less a wall, more a sieve."

"But is it even possible to filter its chakra?"

"Why not? You can filter the others'."

"It is not the others."

There was a long, tense pause. "I guess there's not much point in hiding it from him anymore," the second figure said. "If he has any chance to control it, he needs to know."

"The decision is yours to make," the first figure said. "But I would make it carefully. There's a reason Danzo and I hid it from him, hid it from everyone. Information is power, and he already has more power than he can handle."

"We can't afford another incident like today," the second figure responded. "Hiashi is on the warpath. He knows not to touch Naruto, but he doesn't know why."

"Because I'll rip his spine out if he does, that's why."

"He doesn't know why you would do that, then," the second figure said, in a tone that clearly stated he wasn't in the mood to argue semantics. "But his daughter was nearly killed. He'll try to get at Naruto indirectly. I'll have Shisui keep an eye on Sasuke, and post a few ANBU outside the Haruno household.

"That's good. You're learning quickly."

"I always have."

They continued talking, but Naruto felt himself slipping away, back into a heavy and hopefully dreamless sleep.

_Heavy and Dreamless Sleep_

When Naruto arrived back at the academy, he kept his eyes down and shuffled off to find Sakura and Sasuke.

There was a monster inside him, throwing itself constantly against the walls of its cage. There was a monster inside him, and it was slowly working its way out.

Sasuke and Sakura greeted him with short nods when he sat down next to him. Naruto could see in their eyes that what Itachi had said was true – their memories had been altered. Not completely, but slightly. They couldn't remember seeing his eyes change from blue to red, couldn't remember watching his bones crack and lengthen, his features twist into something decidedly not human. They couldn't even remember having to restrain him. All they could remember was him beating Hyuga Hinata into the ground.

"Are you alright?" Sakura whispered. Her grass green eyes were filled with worry, and Naruto couldn't find it in himself to meet them.

"Yeah," he said, doing his best to sound convincing. "I'm fine. I'm good." He smiled wide, showing his teeth. "Does this look like the face of a guy who's upset?"

Sakura didn't look convinced, but before she could say anything Sasuke stepped in. "Good," he said, keeping his voice low and staring daggers at any classmates that got too close. "You don't have anything to feel bad about."

"Well, I wouldn't really say that…" Naruto said, his smile fading.

"I would," Sasuke said. "Ever since you joined the academy, you've been dead last Naruto. Everyone knows that you're the weakest link in the entire school."

Naruto flinched.

"They've all gone after you because of it," Sasuke continued. "They've all tried to get at us through you, because you were always pretty much an easy victory. But that's not true anymore. You showed everyone that you're not an easy target. And if a Hyuga has to spend a few days in the hospital to prove that point…" he shrugged. "That's not so much a sacrifice as an added bonus."

"Yeah…" Naruto said. "Maybe you're right."

He turned his attention away from his friends and towards the topic of the day's lecture – though of course, it wasn't long until his mind began to wander. Sasuke _was _right. A good Shinobi would see the political value in what he had done, even if he hadn't been in control of himself at the time. A good Shinobi would take the experience and exploit the positives. A good Shinobi wouldn't hate himself a little more every time he though of Hyuga Hinata laying in a hospital bed, struggling to draw breath.

The lecture ended, eventually, and Naruto was only dimly aware of his feet carrying him out of the building and up towards the Hokage monument. He had more classes, but he didn't think he would be going to them. The instructors wouldn't be happy, but they could deal with it.

Konohagakure looked so small from so high up, the people below rushing around like ants. He saw Shinobi hopping from rooftop to rooftop, saw people speed by on bicycles, saw leaves drift across the air, pushed and pulled by the wind.

"It's beautiful up here," Sakura said from behind him.

Naruto turned around to face her. "You should be in class," he said. "I don't want you to get in trouble because you followed me."

"Please," Sakura said, rolling her eyes and walking up beside him. "I've had perfect attendance for six years. I think the academy will manage if I miss one history lecture."

"Yeah, I guess," Naruto said.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, each of them looking out over the village.

"Sometimes," Sakura said, "I like to come up here and just…look at everything. It helps remind me why I'm doing all this."

Naruto gave her a sidelong glance.

"I mean yeah, I want to make my clan proud and all," she continued, "but sometimes it's about more than that, you know? It's about the village, and the people, and my friends, and keeping it all safe." She smiled slightly. "And that's an important thing for me to keep in mind. Because it lets me keep everything in perspective."

Naruto said nothing.

"We all make mistakes sometimes Naruto," Sakura said. "Sometimes we…we let out a piece of ourselves that we don't like. That we're scared of, even. Sometimes we get desperate or angry and we do things we wouldn't normally do. And that's okay. You've just got to…take that, anger, and desperation, and channel it into something good." She gestured at the village below. "Like protecting this."

Naruto's gaze drifted between Sakura and the village below.

"_You are not a monster," the Old Man (former) Hokage said. "Don't ever think you're a monster. You are a Shinobi of Konohagakure who has been burdened with an impossible task." He smiled. "But your whole life has been impossible, Naruto. What's a little more?"_

"And, you know, it's not like you have to face this stuff alone," Sakura said. "Sasuke'll be there for you. And so will I."

Naruto swallowed, and then he wrapped Sakura in a hug so tight that there was a semi-legitimate danger of her torso being crushed under the strain. He didn't notice the tears leaking from his eyes until they fell on Sakura's shirt.

They stood like that for a long time.


	3. No Man Asks For

"_The days of Fire Country superiority are over. Today belongs to Lightning!"_

_-A_

_Acceptance speech of the 7__th__ Raikage_

The Konohagakure hospital was one of the Village's pride and joys. A large building of gleaming white stone, it was one of, if not the, most advanced hospitals in the Elemental Nations. Sanin Tsunade's multiple reforms before and during the Third Great War had jumpstarted medical techniques and technology years forward, resulting in fewer Shinobi and citizen deaths than ever before.

Naruto had visited the hospital several times before – for examinations, or because he was sick – but never had he felt such trepidation standing in front of the large double doors that lead inside.

"Take your time," the Old Man said, apparently noticing Naruto's hesitation. "We're not in any rush."

Naruto nodded, swallowing heavily. It was odd, to have so much time with the Old Man. Naruto had known him since he was little, since the first time Sarutobi had visited the orphanage where Naruto lived. The Old Man had been impressed with Naruto's desire to become a Shinobi, and had actually been the one who mentioned the Academy Entrance Exam. The two of them had spent precious little time together after that though. The Old Man had had paperwork, and Hokage duties, but now that Itachi had officially taken over the position, the Old Man seemed content to spend his newfound free time wandering the streets of the Village, talking to and random passerby.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of inner debate, Naruto stepped forward and pushed open the door. The lobby, as always, was a flurry of activity, doctors and civilians and Shinobi dashing this way and that. Naruto ducked and weaved through the foot traffic, the Old Man following him stoically as they reached the hallway that lead to the intensive care ward.

Naruto felt nervous – jittery, but not in a good way. It was like there was an unscratchable itch somewhere on his body, distracting him, stopping him from calming down and focusing. He closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths, imagining the chakra in his stomach spiraling tightly. The familiar routine brought him no small amount of comfort, and for a moment at least, the itch abated.

Before he knew it, they reached the door to Hinata's room. The two Hyuga guards that stood lazily outside perked up at his approach, their faces hardening, their hands stretching towards the weapon pouches strapped to their legs.

Naruto took an involuntary step backwards, holding up his hands in a gesture of surrender. He felt the Old Man's hand on his back. It gave him a gentle but firm push forwards. Naruto took strength from that push, and a little bit of courage, and clenched his teeth together in determination.

"We told the kid once, sir," one of the Hyuga said. "He's not allowed anywhere near here." His voice was cold and hard, authority and quite a bit of resentment present in every syllable.

The Old Man held up a hand. "I am well aware that Hiashi has ordered you to guard the young Hinata," he said. His own voice was warm and understanding, a sharp contrast to the Hyuga. "But I have already cleared this visit with Hiashi. Naruto seeks only to apologize for his actions, and I am here in full support of him. I will be entering the room, along with Cat and Weasel here."

Two black robed figures suddenly shimmered into existence next to the Old Man, their faces obscured by painted white masks. The two Hyugas' nostrils flared in surprise, eyes bulging and losing their color as they activated the Byakugan.

"We will keep an eye on the boy, to make sure he stays true to his stated intentions," the Old Man continued, ignoring the shocked reactions of the guards. "You're free to join us. I understand that your Clan Head has tasked you with an important job, and I would not think to demand you abandon your duty."

The two Hyuga exchanged uneasy glances, their shoulders rolling, bodies twitching somewhat erratically. Naruto figured they must've been talking in the Hyuga secret language – there must have been hundreds of movements they were making that were invisible to the naked eye, but perfectly visible to the Byakugan.

Finally, the two turned to the Old Man and bowed. "As is your wish, sir," one said, pushing open the door and stepping through, but keeping it held open. The two ANBU, Cat and Weasel, faded back into thin air, and Naruto tentatively stepped through the now open door. The Old Man followed close behind.

The room looked much the same as any other Hospital room, but different. Hinata was sitting in the bed, surrounded by an impressive array of flowers. She was so absorbed by something in her lap that she didn't seem to notice Naruto's approach. As he came closer he saw her carefully placing certain flowers between the pages of a heavy dictionary. Her tongue was stuck slightly past her lips in concentration, her brow furrowed as she meticulously covered the flowers with tissues. She wore surprisingly little bandages that Naruto could see, and was dressed in a simple hospital gown with a delicate, light blue headband.

"Princess Hinata, you have visitors," the guard said from the doorway. Hinata looked up in surprise, eyes widening as she saw the Old Man.

Then her gaze shifted to Naruto, and she recoiled. Though nothing had touched him, Naruto had the distinct feeling of being slapped across the face, hard, and he came to a stop still several paces from the bed.

"We'll give you some privacy," the Old Man said, placing his hand on Naruto's shoulder and giving a reassuring squeeze. "So that you can say what needs to be said."

Naruto, still mostly frozen in a state of semi-panic, nodded sharply. He willed his legs to take another step forward, like he did when he was running with Mizuki, and was genuinely surprised when it worked.

Hinata, true to Hyuga form, recovered quickly. Her face smoothed into a completely blank mask of non-emotion that reminded Naruto more of porcelain than human flesh, and when she spoke her voice was soft but even. "Hello, Kiji-san."

Naruto cringed at the nearly archaic and almost stiflingly polite "Kiji-san". He knew that some of the noble clans still preferred the older, more formal tongue that had been spoken during the Warring Clans period, but he had never had it used on him before. He didn't even call his teachers "sensei", and none of them seemed to mind. It was almost enough to make him not realize that Hinata had addressed him using his "family" name. Almost.

Well, when in Sunagakure, as the old saying went. If she wanted to do it this way, that was her choice and he would happily follow along. Naruto stopped and placed his hands by his side, dipping into a bow. His eyes were practically glued to the floor as he held his position – nearly 45 degrees, which combined with the length of time he was holding it was a bit…excessive, especially for a conversation with a girl his own age (even if said girl did happen to be the heir to a noble Shinobi Clan). But if Naruto could've held it longer, or bowed deeper, without looking like he was mocking her, he would've without question.

"Hello, Hina…Hyuga-san," he said, slightly stumbling over the unfamiliar style of speaking. Was –san even appropriate in this situation? His history and language was still a mess, even with Sakura's tutoring. "I um…I have come here today because…because my actions have brought you great…uh, pain, and um, I…" he trailed off, eyes darting awkwardly around the room. "I'm sorry, may…can I just not talk like that? Can I just talk to you normal?"

He was half sure he heard the Old Man give a very quiet snort from the corner of the room, but he couldn't be positive.

Hinata's mouth twitched, and then the implacable mask softened, her face becoming noticeably more human as she relaxed into a more natural expression. "I…suppose that would be alright," she said, nodding.

Naruto's shoulders slumped in relief. Now, maybe, he could get a sentence out without stumbling over every other word. "Look," he said, scratching the back of his head. "I just…I just wanted to let you know that what I did…that I didn't mean to. That I don't hate you or anything."

He paused, but Hinata said nothing. She was apparently content to let him speak for now, and so he continued talking. "I don't really know how you guys do it at Scout School, but at Assault School, the games are like…a really big deal. And I got scared that maybe I wasn't good enough, that I was going to hurt my teammates, and I…I hurt you instead."

Still no response. Hinata's gaze had drifted away from him, and she was now looking out the window. But Naruto got the sense that she was still listening to him, so he trudged onward. "And that's not okay," he continued lamely. "I mean, you might not be my teammate, but you're still a fellow Shinobi. And what I did was…was pretty shitty." He winced. "Sorry, I mean, like, bad of me. I didn't mean to swear." He scuffed his sandal against the ground, wondering why his apologies always sounded so much better in his head. "I guess what I'm trying to say is that I wish I had never done it, and I'd do anything to make it up to you. I swear to the Will of Fire itself, I'd do anything." He held one hand solemnly up, as if ready to pledge himself to her. "And…and I hope you don't hate me. But I guess I'd understand if you do."

For a long few moments, there was nothing but silence in that little hospital room. Naruto, sensing the conversation had come to a close, bowed again – not so deep this time, and not for so long, but still respectful. Then he turned to go.

"I don't hate you, Naruto," Hinata said, and Naruto whirled back around. His eyes met hers, and though she couldn't meet his gaze exactly for more than a moment, there was no flinch backwards this time. "I…I think I understand."

Naruto blinked once. "You do?" He asked, not quite believing it. "I mean, I hope you do. But…you do? Really?"

Was that a smile tugging at the edge of her lips? Naruto couldn't be sure. "I think so," she said. "P-Pres-…she took a deep breath to steady herself. "Pressure affects all of us. It's part of our lives as Shinobi." Now she did smile a bit, but it was a sad one. "I used to envy you, back in the academy. You were an…you did not belong to a noble clan. I believed that meant there was no pressure in your training. But now, I understand that there's just a different kind."

Naruto tried to swallow. It sort of got stuck halfway down his throat. Hinata's hands traveled up to her forehead, where she began unwinding her headband.

"But another thing I learned," she said, her voice now little more than a whisper, "is that it gets better. Eventually." The headband fell into her lap, and Naruto's eyes were immediately drawn to her forehead. He wasn't sure what he had expected, but it certainly hadn't been the Caged Bird Seal.

_Just Fly Away_

"You have a gift, Naruto," the Old Man said as they walked the streets of Konohagakure. It was an unfortunately dreary day, clouds hanging oppressively low in the sky, looking as if they might decide to start pouring rain any moment now. Naruto watched a Shinobi bounce from rooftop to rooftop before vanishing in a blur of speed.

"I do?" He asked. Pretty much everyone he had ever met had been sure to remind him that he had no gifts of any kind. He didn't take it poorly (he figured it just made him that much more badass, to be a Shinobi with no inborn talents) but it was certainly odd to hear the exact opposite coming from a former Hokage.

The Old Man nodded. "You have the gift of sincerity," he said, casting a glance up at the sky. "It is a gift that is exceedingly rare in Shinobi, and even civilians. I fear that it might soon go extinct."

"I don't…really get it," Naruto said.

"You're honest," the Old Man said. "You seem to be completely incapable of being anything other than one hundred percent yourself at any given moment."

"Oh," Naruto said, frowning. "I thought that was a bad thing."

The Old Man chuckled. "Some might say so, Naruto. Some might say so. But I think it's a gift. You saw how it affected Hinata. She could tell that you were being honest with her, and in return, she was honest with you." He smiled. "Sincerity has a way of breaking down barriers, I think. We could all do with a little more sincerity in the world."

"Do you think I'm gonna make a good Shinobi?" Naruto asked. "Even though, you know…everything?" It was a question that had always lingered around the edge of his mind, ever since he had finished dead last in the academy his first year, and had recently resurfaced upon learning of the seal on his stomach.

"I think that depends entirely on you," the Old Man said. His voice was still gentle, but it had lost its slightly joking edge from before. "Naruto, the measure of a man – not just a Shinobi, but a man – is not what he has, but how he uses it."

"I guess," Naruto said, kicking at a stray pebble that had found its way into his path. The Old Man's answer sounded a lot like the kind of answer he would've expected from an adult – important sounding, but lacking in any practical answer. A simple yes or no would've sufficed.

"The First Hokage wasn't a good Shinobi because of the Mokuton," the Old Man continued. "He wasn't a great man because it either. He was both of those things because he looked out across devastation and pain and saw something better. He saw hope. And then he worked to make that hope a reality." He stopped then, in the middle of the road, and looked at Naruto. "What do you see, Naruto?"

Naruto frowned, but he looked around. "Konohagakure," he said with a shrug. He wondered if this was some kind of trick question.

The Old Man chuckled. "Deeper than that, Naruto. Don't look with your eyes. Don't see what you actually see…see what you want to see."

Naruto exhaled heavily. This was getting confusing fast. He wasn't sure how exactly to not see what he saw, but he figured the Old Man wouldn't be asking him to do anything impossible. So he scrunched up his face and tried to see something else. Something he wanted to see.

"I see…" he said after a moment, face still screwed up in intense concentration. "I see Sakura. And Sasuke. And Mizuki, and Hinata."

More people were appearing now. He could see them, walking the streets of Konohagakure. Asuma and Kurenai. Kiba and Shino. Musuu and Aichou. Even Keikan, and Meisha, even though they were both huge assholes. As he concentrated, the streets of the village grew more and more crowded, until Naruto could barely see anything through the ocean of bodies assembled in front of him.

"What are they doing?" The Old Man asked. His voice cut through the darkness of Naruto's mind, and suddenly the Shinobi-in-training was intensely aware of what everyone was doing.

"They're smiling," he said. "They're just…smiling." He opened his eyes to see the Old Man smiling himself.

"Then whether you are a good Shinobi," he said, resuming their walk, "and more importantly, whether you're a good man, Naruto…will depend on how hard you work on making what you saw a reality."

"Sakura said something similar the other day," Naruto said, taking a few skipping steps to catch up the Old Man.

"Did she."

"Yeah. Not exactly the same thing, but she talked about the village, and how it reminds her why she's a Shinobi," Naruto said. "I don't think I really understood all of it, but I guess she was trying to say the exact same thing you're saying." He looked up at the Old Man and grinned happily, white teeth stretching from ear to ear. "I'd better go find her. I promised we'd do a little studying today."

The Old Man smiled back. "Then you shouldn't keep her waiting. Off you go." Naruto gave an excited whoop as he tore off down the streets, laughing like some kind of maniac.

Hiruzen watched the boy go. It was hard to imagine being that young and optimistic, but he thanked the Will of Fire everyday that he lived in a place with so many reminders. "Sakura said all that, hm?" He said to himself, turning to go. "She's a good girl. Always does what she's told."

_What Are Shinobi, After All_

It was a Saturday. Across the Elemental Nations, children everywhere cast off the burden of training and studying and flooded into the streets and parks of their respective hometowns, laughing and playing and generally just being children.

Unfortunately for Haruno Sakura, she was grounded. She had skipped class, you see, and in the Haruno household, that wasn't anywhere near acceptable.

Her parents had laid out the rules in simple terms. She was not to leave the house, excepting an emergency. She was not to leave her room, except for the purpose of getting something to eat or drink. She was to sit in silence, and split her time between contemplating her mistake and doing her homework.

So Sakura sat in her room and wondered what exactly she could've done to get herself put in this situation. First, Naruto, in an uncharacteristic display of brutality, had beaten the living crap out of Hyuga Hinata. He had obviously been beating himself up about it, but she hadn't realized how hard he had been taking it until she had run into the Sixth Hokage. He had accidently let slip a few things that had convinced Sakura that Naruto needed a talking to, and so she had taken it upon herself to do that instead of listening to her teacher give a lecture on the history of Clan politics.

Her parents, unsurprisingly, weren't very interested in her reasons behind her decision. It seemed to them that she could've easily postponed talking to Naruto until lunchtime, and they couldn't for the life of them understand why she seemed so eager to throw her future away.

"Not just _your_ future," Sakura muttered to herself, her voice a mockingly high falsetto. "The future _of your entire clan_. Whoop-de-doo." Her attention fell to a single strand of cotton candy pink hair, which had fallen in front of her face. The next five minutes were spent attempted to blow it back into place, which ultimately succeeded. She pumped her fist in triumph. Then she checked her clock.

Wow, time moved slowly. She wondered why it had never seemed to move this slowly before. Sighing, she shook her hands out and returned to her book. She very pointedly did not think of what she could've done today had she not wound up grounded – Ino and Musuu had mentioned something about going shopping. That would've been fun.

_Name the eight noble Shinobi clans of the Land of Fire, _read the first question.

"Easy," Sakura said to herself, leaning back in her chair. "Senju, Uchiha, Hyuga, Nara, Akimichi, Inuzuka, Yamanaka, and Aburame." She flipped to the back of the book to confirm her answer, though it wasn't strictly necessary. _Naruto _could've answered that question.

Question two: _Name the Seven Hokage._

"Eight Hokage," Sakura said quietly. This book was stupid and out of date. Why was she wasting her time here? She knew all of this, had known all of this for years. "Senju Hashirama, Senju Tobirama, Nara Shokkou, Hyuga Hinata, Senju Aiko, Sarutobi Hiruzen, Namikaze Minato, and Uchiha Itachi." She checked the back of the book again. As usual, she was flawless.

She groaned and kicked the chair she was sitting in onto its back legs, eyes staring blankly at the ceiling. What was she doing here? Going over pages upon pages of stuff she already knew? She got that succeeding was important, and she got her grades slipping could mean a lot of bad things for people that didn't deserve it but…

She shook her head, trying vainly to clear her mind of that particular line of thought. It always ended the same way – with the logical part of herself admitting that her parents were right, but the emotional side refusing to capitulate.

She could almost hear it now, as if it were another person, speaking to her. _Why is everything on your shoulders? _It asked her. _Why is everyone relying on you to do well as a Shinobi? You have lots of cousins. The Haruno clan is known all across the Land of Fire for producing geniuses._

"I'm the best," Sakura explained to the imaginary voice in her head, rubbing at her temples in a desperate attempt to stop the last of her sanity from leaking out. "I have the best chance of succeeding. And if I pull it off-

"_Then, ten, twenty years from now – maybe more than that – the Harunos can become a proper Shinobi clan." _Her manifested subconscious shot back. _"Whoop-de-fucking-do."_

"It's a big deal!" Sakura protested.

"_What's wrong with being a civilian clan? We've done well for ourselves so far, haven't we? Half our family are doctors! Our dad is the best neurosurgeon in Konohagakure! They don't need us to succeed, it's not life or death!"_

"Maybe if I ask nicely, Dad will cut you out with a chainsaw," Sakura muttered. She slapped the sides of her head with two open palms. "Just shut up, shut up, shut up."

Miraculously, there was no answer. Sakura exhaled deeply. Maybe she needed more sleep, but sometimes it honestly felt as if her subconscious had a mind of its own.

Luckily, she needed not dwell on her own slipping sanity for too long. A loud series of knocks on her window grabbed her attention, instead focusing it on the hyperactive blonde hanging just outside her room.

She glanced down at her textbook. Maybe her crazy subconscious was right. Maybe she deserved a break.

"Thanks," Naruto said when she opened the window, swinging in and shaking some dirt out of his hair. "My arms were getting tired holding myself out there."

"Your arms?" Sakura asked. "Why didn't you just wall walk?" They had all learned that technique a week ago, and she was finding it incredibly useful.

Naruto rolled his eyes. "I haven't exactly got it yet," he explained, setting his backpack down on her bed. "I mean like, I sorta got it, but then I don't so…I figured I'd work on it later. Maybe after our tutoring session." He grinned.

"Oh, _man_," Sakura said, rubbing her temples. "Our session! I completely forgot about that, I'm so sorry Naruto."

"No problem," Naruto says. "You're here, so no big deal, right?" He smiled, and Sakura shook her head in near disbelief. There must've been something about the academy, because Naruto never seemed to enjoy studying there.

Sakura sighed. "I mean…" she said, shrugging. She really hated discouraging Naruto on the rare occasions he was actually excited about hitting the books, but she was about to scream bloody murder if she had to read another dry, lifeless biography of someone long dead (no pun intended). "What if we just…" she said, "I don't know, skipped the session today. Had a little fun instead."

Naruto's eyes widened in disbelief, and for a moment Sakura was afraid his eyebrows might actually float off his head. Instead they settled somewhere in his bangs. "Yeah, I think we could do that," he said with a grin. "And could we get Sasuke? Because actually, I was kinda hoping we didn't do a session today." He reached out and snatched his backpack off of Sakura's bed, opening it to reveal that it was full of cans of spray paint.

"Seriously?" Sakura asked as Naruto cackled gleefully to himself. "I thought those were books! I was so proud of you!"

"Aw, Sakura," Naruto said, though he couldn't quite wipe the grin off his face. "I'll make it up to you somehow. I could…" He snapped his fingers. "I know! Let me buy you lunch."

Sakura eyed him suspiciously. "A _platonic_ lunch?" She asked. "A lunch as _friends_," she clarified, in case Naruto still didn't know what platonic meant. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me five times, shame on me.

"A _platonic_ lunch as _friends_," Naruto assured her, nodding happily.

Sakura sighed. "Good, then. I guess that'll be okay," she said, hopping out the window. Naruto owed her some food anyway, after so many times buying him ramen when his wallet went "mysteriously" missing.

"Whereyourealizeyoulovemehalfwaythrough!" Naruto shouted, leaping hard out the window and sailing over her head. Sakura just rolled her eyes. She'd figure Naruto out eventually. Probably.

_But The Heart Muddles_

By the time he was twelve, Uchiha Sasuke had long since learned that the best way to enter his house was to go directly into his bedroom window. It was the quickest, easiest, and most efficient way, and had the added bonus of bypassing his mother and father entirely.

Today, his routine changed a bit – instead of leaping to the rooftop of a neighboring house, and from there into his window, he channeled chakra to the soles of his feet and pressed them hesitantly to the wall of his house. It wasn't perfect, but it stuck, and a moment later he was stepping silently into his bedroom.

It was sparse, as was any true Shinobi's. A mat lay in the corner, weapons and a few scrolls meticulously organized in another. On the ceiling above the mat, there was a large piece of paper, held to the ceiling with tacks. It had an old Uchiha saying written on it – _If you lack Heaven, seek wisdom, be prepared. If you lack Earth, seek advantages, run in the field. _The beginning of the modern Shinobi system had seen it adopted by the village's Chunin, but it had been an Uchiha saying first, and that's how Sasuke would always think of it. It was the last thing he saw before he went to sleep and the first thing he saw when he woke up, a constant reminder to push and better himself. His father had put it up when Sasuke had joined the academy.

The only thing in the room that could really be considered decorative was a black-sheathed ANBU tanto mounted on the wall above the door. It had been Itachi's, given to Sasuke as a birthday gift, and though Sasuke only had rudimentary sword skills, he hoped to one day be able to wield it as well as Itachi had. Some days, that dream seemed less insane than others.

Sasuke dropped his bag onto the floor near the mat, flopping down to the floor while doing his best to convince his body that it wasn't half broken. He had worked himself half to death on taijutsu, determined to never repeat the lackluster performance against the Inuzuka in their last match. Tomorrow he would take a break from physical training, give his muscles some time to recover – chakra control, or maybe meditation. For now though, he would lie on the floor and rest his aching legs, arms, head, neck, and everything in between.

He had just managed to get his sandals off when the door opened. The door opened in, and towards the corner that held Sasuke's mat, which meant he could only see the opener's shadow – but it wasn't difficult to figure out who it was.

"Father," Sasuke said, pushing himself to his feet despite his body's protests and ducking into a stiff bow. When Uchiha Fugaku entered the room, it didn't matter what you were doing. You bowed. Sasuke had once seen Itachi bow to their father twenty minutes after receiving open-heart surgery. A little post-training soreness could be ignored.

"Son," his father replied. He was a tall man, with a broad face and a stern look. Sasuke had always looked more like his mother – thin, pale, and angular features, glossy, almost blue-black hair. Itachi had always looked more like his father's son, with a less vibrant hair color and the pronounced tear troughs.

"You weren't at dinner," Fugaku said, wandering over to Itachi's old tanto and idly examining it.

Sasuke nodded. "I apologize. I was training, and lost track of time."

"You didn't come through the door. Am to assume you came in through your window, again?"

Another nod. "I was practicing the wall walking technique. We learned it last week," Sasuke explained. His tone was level, even, and carried the perfect mixture of assertiveness and respect. You learned quickly in the Uchiha clan. You had to.

"Only just now?" Fugaku asked, sounding mildly surprised. "I learned to wall-walk when I was ten."

Sasuke grit his teeth. Wall-walking was a dangerous and finicky technique, requiring chakra pathways strong and stable enough to handle such a constant flow of energy without cracking or rupturing. According to medical experts, twelve was really a year or so _too early _to begin, but it was too valuable a training technique to delay any longer. Beginning at ten was a risky proposition at best. His father knew this. Sasuke knew this. It still stung.

"Of course," Fugaku continued, eyes not leaving the tanto, "that was a different time. The risks…we had no idea. And there was war coming. Then again…Itachi learned at eight."

Sasuke grit his teeth a little harder.

Fugaku didn't say anything for several minutes after that, content to watch Sasuke struggle to stand. Finally, turning to face his youngest son, he touched on the reason he had come to Sasuke's room in the first place. "Your grades," he said simply.

Sasuke was unable to keep his brow from furrowing, his mouth from shifting into a confused frown. "My grades?" He asked. "What about them?"

"Your genjutsu score," Fugaku said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "It's dropped three points since the last marking period. I trust you have an explanation for this?"

Sasuke paused for a moment, mind racing behind an impassive face. He _did _have an explanation – he had been struggling with the chakra theory behind sound based genjutsu – but he knew his father would never accept that kind of answer. So instead he bowed his head. "I have no explanation," he said simply.

Fugaku nodded, as if he had expected this answer, and Sasuke reasoned that he probably had. It wasn't an approving nod, or even really a nod that seemed to say "yes, you've confirmed my suspicions". It was more a nod that was there because it seemed to be a logical place for a nod. "You realize, of course," Fugaku said, after a moment, "that that is unacceptable. I trust you won't make a habit of it."

"I…" Sasuke said, almost before he could stop himself. The correct answer was "yes sir". Why, why, why had he not just answered, "yes sir"?

It was too late to change his mind though. Fugaku said nothing, just stared at him, and Sasuke swallowed once before ignoring everything that was telling him to shut up and instead blazed forwards. "I…I'm still number one in the class," he said. "I just…I don't see why three points out of my genjutsu score is a problem, as long as I keep the top spot."

"Because merely being the top of you class isn't nearly as impressive an accomplishment as you seem to think it is," Fugaku said. "You're an Uchiha – that you perform better than the Senju or the Hyuga or the Nara is no achievement, it is a fact of life." He turned away then, and walked back towards the door leading to the rest of the house. "What's important is not that you prove that you're the best _now_, but that you prove that you're the best _ever_. Better than the first Hokage, better than the Second. Better than the Sanin." He stopped in the doorway, the light from the hallway again obscuring his features in shadow. "Better than your brother."

_Brother, My Brother_

For perhaps the tenth time since he was thirteen years old, Hatake Kakashi was on time for a meeting. This was because the message informing him of the meeting had included the words _urgent, Hokage, war room,_ and perhaps most importantly, _Shimura Danzo_. Kakashi would risk a lot of things for the sake of his reputation, but the enmity of the mysterious ROOT commander was not one of them.

The war room was small, but brightly lit and covered in maps depicting the various elemental nations. Though Kakashi wasn't exactly late to the meeting, he was the last to arrive. The Eighth Hokage, flanked by the Seventh, stood at the head of a large wooden table. To his right was Danzo, who, predictably, was accompanied by Yamanaka Inoichi.

Kakashi skirted around those two cautiously. He was _pretty sure_ Inoichi still required eye and skin contact to alter memories, but wouldn't have been surprised if the Yamanaka and his employer had figured out a way to bypass the traditional Yamanaka weaknesses.

Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura, two of the Hokage's advisors, stood next to Danzo. Their faces were, as usual, indicative of severe displeasure. Kakashi considered poking them, but thought better of it. They were, after all, his bosses, and this was a serious situation.

The white robed ANBU commander, complete with a Dog mask, and Nara Shikaku, the Jonin commander, were the final two people in the room. Kakashi gave a quick nod to both of them and took his place at the table, waiting for the Hokage to begin speaking.

When the young Uchiha finally did find his voice, it was quiet but powerful. "Momochi Zabuza has just killed the Daimyo of the Water Country, and his family," he said.

_Zabuza._

There was a moment of silence as the people in the room who hadn't already known this processed the new information. Kakashi figured that it was only him, the ANBU commander, and Shikaku who had been in the dark, but he had a hard time reading Inoichi on the best of days.

"When did this happen?" The ANBU commander asked after everyone had finished digesting what Itachi had just said.

"A few days ago," Itachi said. "Though we've only just now learned about it. The Water Country is highly isolationist, and Momochi hasn't seemed interested in spreading the word himself. We're willing to bet many of the Water Country nobles don't even know that their government's been decapitated."

"So who's ruling the country now?" Shikaku asked. "Has Momochi attempted to put anyone else on the throne?"

Itachi shook his head. "We don't think so. As far as we can guess, a few powerful nobles are scrambling for power, and Momochi's vanished into the swamps with a not insignificant force of Mist Shinobi. He's got Shinobi and Samurai on his tail, and we're guessing that he'll strike next against Kirigakure itself…but we have no way of knowing."

"Hopefully, we will soon," Koharu said. "We already have spies trying to work their way into Momochi's little revolution. They're some of our best, and he's got to be desperate for Shinobi."

"So I guess the only question," Kakashi said, crossing his arms, "is why did he do it?"

There was a beat before Itachi spoke. "Actually," he said, "We were hoping you could tell us that." Kakashi's eyes met the younger man's, and his mind, as it so often did, flashed back to an earlier time.

_Pouring rain. Steel against steel._

Kakashi shook his head. "Zabuza isn't one to act irrationally," he told the assembled Shinobi. This was part of a plan."

_Zabuza was taller, bigger. Longer arms – not that it mattered much. His massive sword outweighed and outreached the White Light Saber by so much it wasn't even funny. The Mist Shinobi was fast too – Kakashi couldn't get through his guard, couldn't close the distance. He still had the Chidori, but–_

"He's patient," Kakashi continued. "Methodical. Calculating. If he did it now, it's because he's ready. You said he might strike against Kirigakure itself?"

Itachi nodded. "That's what our spies believe."

_And then, there it was. The strike. Too quick for Kakashi to block – too quick to do anything but stare as a solid wall of razor sharp metal swung at him. He thought he heard Zabuza laughing. He knew he heard a scream, full of desperation and defiance and rage._

"Then my best bet is that the Daimyo is nothing more than a distraction. And a preparation," Kakashi said. "The most reasonable explanation is that Zabuza wants the Kage title, and he needs a Daimyo that will support him. The previous family was in deep with the Mizukage.

_Kakashi kept his eyes open. A true Shinobi never looked away, always faced death with defiance. He wondered what they would say about him when he was gone. Would they respect him, for always getting the mission done? Would they judge him, for every time he had failed? And what would his father say when– _

_Blur. Black on blue on red, red, red. Blood fills Kakashi's vision, as do screams, as do laughs. When the fog clears Kakashi is flat on his back, staring up at Zabuza's face. They're both covered in blood – Obito's blood. The young Uchiha is split down the middle a foot or two away._

_Kakashi should've died. He thinks that every day. He should've died. But he hadn't. When the next strike came, he rolled out of the way. He grabbed Rin, tears streaming down her face, and ran, ran, ran. Zabuza stayed with Obito. In a funny way, that made Zabuza a better friend than Kakashi had ever been._


End file.
